So my granddad owned and ran a Texaco gas station during the late 40s into the late 60s. It was also a repair station where he did all mechanical work on vehicles. Anyway sometime in the 50s he acquired an Internatiomal I -6 with a front plow. He used it for plowing snow till he gave up the station in the 70s. My dad ended up with it and he used it till the late 80s for plowing our driveway at the farm. Well one day it wouldnt start and got parked. I was too young then and wasnt messing with tractors. Its been sitting ever since. Dad used to roll the engine over occasionally, but I dont think its been done in a bunch of years. My fault really Im there everyday, but never think of it. Its been covered and still has the front plow on it. All 4 tires are flat. Rear fenders are starting to rust out. Has 2 sets of rear weights. Sheet metal is excellent. Always ran awesome. So this morning dad asked if I wanted it. Its family history. I really have no use for it, dont know if it even turns over. I know Ill have to check it out. Dont need it, dont really have the money to dump into a huge project, but at the same time hate to get rid of something thats been in the family so long !
- Thread starter 300jk
- Start date
fastfarmall
Well-known Member
Well the tires are maybe 50 years old,or are they the originals so that's not something to worry about, did the engine have a weather cap on it? maybe you can find fenders used at a salvage yard, but, i know how a tractor can be part of you or a family!
No offense intended but interesting you visit YT yet given this opportunity to have something many here will never keep from their family history you question this tractors future. At least do some work on it to improve it and you many not have any use for it other than look at it and remember which should be reason enough to keep it.
fixerupper
Well-known Member
If you don't feel like messing with it right now, keep it anyway. Once it is out of your family it is usually gone for good. Remove the spark plugs and fill the plug holes with oil till it runs out, then put the plugs back in. ATF seems to be the preferred oil for this. Some guys even pour it down the muffler. If the pistons are stuck this oil might help free them with a big emphasis on the word might. If the pistons are not stuck the oil will help to keep them from sticking while it sits waiting for you to get it running someday.
larry@stinescorner
Well-known Member
x2 on that advice!
I-6 is not a common tractor, but engine parts are almost as common as dirt. Except for a few minor differences, it's an M engine. Rebuild that rascal if needed & use it to plow snow for another generation. I'd guess that the rear end and transmission will be not even need more than a fluid change.
RedMF40
Well-known Member
If it isnt eating anything or asking for money you could park it at your place where its out of the way. If one day it wants to be fixed up, youll know. Youll hear the voice. If you never hear that voice, maybe re-home it with some young feller who wants to get into tractors? Gerrit
If my Dad while alive asked me if I wanted something I would have jumped on it. I had to fight for a few items as my youngest brother claimed everything since he lived with my Mom when he passed. I didnt even get the inlayed Zuni belt buckle I gave Dad when I joined the Navy. Family can suck!
J Hamilton
Well-known Member
- Location
- Southern Illinois
I agree with what others have said, if you don't take it home you may regret it once it's gone.
Paul from MI
Well-known Member
I have two family tractors. Always think of Dad and Grandpa and Uccle when I run either of them--priceless.
I have the 45 H I learned to drive on. The 52 H dad bought later on and the M my brother bought used some years later. Put a whole lot of money into them. Don't really have any use for them but Dad bought both H's new and they sat outside in total disrepair for 15 years after my brother quit farming. It just bothered me to see them like that. Do I need them, well no, but like Bobby Bare would say, but I got em.
If you fix it up you will likely spent over $5000 on a tractor that will be worth far less than half that amount. If you do fixed it up would you actually want to drive it for the next ten winters to move snow or would you rather have something more modern and more comfortable? Consider if you will use it and if you have shed space for it. Another option is to keep it outside as yard art.
If you do take it, consider paying your dad the $250 or $500 that he would have received for it from someone else.
If you do take it, consider paying your dad the $250 or $500 that he would have received for it from someone else.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
I'd take it for sure,at first just it running hit the rust spots with primer probably won't cost much.You'll find some uses for it.
Ultradog MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Twin Cities
Sentimentalism is way over rated.
People fill up their places with burdensom junk because it belonged to Grandpa, Mom or uncle Ernie.
My dad left me a 2N Ford when he passed.
I put new rears on it and ran it for a couple of years. But Ford Ns aren't much of a tractor so I sold it and bought a better one.
Then a better one and a better one again.
My dad was not sentimental. If he could see how I have parlayed his old N into the couple of decent Fords I have now he would say I did the right thing.
Do what you Think is pragmatic. Don't do what you Feel you should do.
People fill up their places with burdensom junk because it belonged to Grandpa, Mom or uncle Ernie.
My dad left me a 2N Ford when he passed.
I put new rears on it and ran it for a couple of years. But Ford Ns aren't much of a tractor so I sold it and bought a better one.
Then a better one and a better one again.
My dad was not sentimental. If he could see how I have parlayed his old N into the couple of decent Fords I have now he would say I did the right thing.
Do what you Think is pragmatic. Don't do what you Feel you should do.
Tony in SD
Well-known Member
X3
Tony in SD
Well-known Member
You may not need it or have the money to restore it BUT someday one of your kids or grandkids may want it and have the money to restore it. Get it store it, keep it in the family. Once its gone, its gone forever.
Crazy Horse
Well-known Member
I hear ya JK but when you think of it, our moms and dads had all kinds of things back in the day ..... hundreds even thousands of items. How many of those things do any of us still have, keep and cherish other than photos? Some yes, but most are long gone. Do we pine and wish we had all of it still in our possession? Probably not. The tractor might be different for you though, but some interesting replies here.
Fritz Maurer
Well-known Member
You have no use for it , you never think about it , you dont have the money to put in it. This is not a good mental beginning to saving a tractor. Put it in the paper , or let it rot where it sits. Its going to happen sooner or later anyway.
I have the 44 2 N Dad bought new when I was 9 months oul. Also no use any more but plan on having it the day I die. I also have a 41 9N. Wish I could have these tractors back 38 John Deere A, 46 John Deere B, Ford NAA, Ferguson TO30, 41 Farmal H, 49 John Deere B, 51 John Deere A. No family to leave the 9N and 2N to.
Strike while the opportunity is there. How much worse can it get in several years and who knows you may have a whole new outlook on it including money for such a project. If it was a big barn full of odds and ends then it would feel more like a burden to me anyways. Family history can be impossible to recapture once gone. I wish I could find grandpa's JD 3010 diesel but without any real information to go on it will take an act of God to find it.
Dad got the '51 M he bought brand new repainted spring of 2006, Dad passed in fall 2006. I spoke up and LaborDay weekend SON and I hauled it the 200 miles home, It's safe inside my shop, It was the first tractor I ever drove, I was about 4 years old standing between Dad on the seat and the steering wheel, was first tractor I drove solo on. It was always the loader tractor, winters after big snows I'd scrape up as much snow as I could and make mountains in the barnyard. And 4 days ago I bought a new loader for it, a #2000 IH with hyd bucket. Be a perfect match for a '51 M with power steering, live hydraulic, and 4 M&W Add Power sleeves & pistons. It will get new rear tires soon too, maybe this spring.
I agree with the others that say get the I-6, W-6 parts may fit and work, depends on the part. By ALL means keep it under roof. If the engine hasn't been rebuilt, it probably has cast iron pistons, factory aluminum pistons didn't start until the Super's in '52. It doesn't have to be a money pit. It could probably be made to run cheaper than you think.
I agree with the others that say get the I-6, W-6 parts may fit and work, depends on the part. By ALL means keep it under roof. If the engine hasn't been rebuilt, it probably has cast iron pistons, factory aluminum pistons didn't start until the Super's in '52. It doesn't have to be a money pit. It could probably be made to run cheaper than you think.
Ultradog MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Twin Cities
Totally apropos however...
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